Tailored to your good taste

Makati Shangri-La recently unveiled its newest dining destination, the Sage Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant’s intimate setting, located at the hotel’s mezzanine level, has a seating capacity of 88 guests and offers modern European cuisine using seasonal and sustainable ingredients. Its Tapas Bar is coupled with live entertainment on the lobby level and can accommodate up to 94 guests.

As guests entered Sage, they were greeted by a wall of teal chevron pattern, inspired by the inner lining of a suit. A floor-to-ceiling Enomatic machine is installed on the left side from the bar entrance, and across it are metal rows consisting of leather strips to connote belt buckles.

The central bar and floor are made from English onyx. Plush chairs are all custom-made and hand-sewn from leather, suede, velvet and tweed. The wooden flooring is patterned after the herringbone design, and wall panels have a pinstripe pattern.

Makati Shangri-La area manager and general manager Alain Borgers said, “After months of waiting, we are excited to finally welcome you to Sage Restaurant and Bar, inspired by ‘The Perfect Cut,’ which refers to the best cut of prime meat and to the venue’s interior design inspired by the meticulous tailoring of a gentleman’s suit.”

Borgers also introduced Sage’s chef de cuisine Gilles Galli, who hails from Grasse, France. Chef Gilles offers   modern European style of cooking using sustainable ingredients including produce from local farmers.

The night was filled with music from Chillitees, The Zombettes (Ornussa Cadness and Sanya Smith) and DJ Marshall White. Guests were among the first to taste the creations selected from chef Gilles’ tapas menu, paired with handcrafted cocktails, champagne, wines and spirits.

The name Sage was chosen due to its origin. First used in the 14th century by the Anglo-French, sage means: “to taste, have good taste, be wise.” Currently, the word sage’s two meanings signify the inspiration for the restaurant — as an aromatic plant with grayish-green leaves used as a culinary herb. And for the bar — to mean a profoundly wise person, a learned person, a thinker, a scholar, a savant or guru.

(The restaurant’s operation hours are the following: Breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. and lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. from Monday to Friday; dinner is from 6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. from Monday to Saturday. The bar’s operating hours are 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. from Sunday to Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. during Fridays and Saturdays.)